Course Overview:
This course is an introduction to cultural anthropology. It will introduce students to key concepts, methods, and theoretical debates in the study of human nature, culture, and society. It will examine the diverse life-ways, social arrangements, and belief systems found among human groups around the world. Anthropology is by its nature interdisciplinary, both through the interaction of its sub-fields and though its relation to other disciplines in the humanities, social, and natural sciences. Interdisciplinary readings will help provide a holistic perspective on human nature and a deeper appreciation of both the diversity of human societies as well as the similarities that make all human beings fundamentally alike. By comparing different societies and cultures with our own, students will acquire conceptual tools for analyzing domestic and global problems, past and present cultural changes, and current events, and they will see how anthropological methods and insights can be applied to the solution of contemporary problems.
Term Paper:
This paper can be on a topic of your choosing but must reflect your newfound understanding of
anthropological outlooks on the world. As anthropology is the study humankind broadly, almost any topic can be studied anthropologically.
